


Breathe

by MurderRose



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Ara is precious, Gen, Jeonghan is a single parent, M/M, Mainly rambling, Slice of Life, first time to write a child, slightly melencholic?, wonwoo centric
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-18
Updated: 2020-06-18
Packaged: 2021-03-03 19:35:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,962
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24790948
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MurderRose/pseuds/MurderRose
Summary: Wonwoo floats through life with lots of visits to Jeonghan and Ara, his favourite hyung and niece.Slice of life fic, very adorable.
Relationships: Jeon Wonwoo & Yoon Jeonghan, Jeon Wonwoo/Kim Mingyu
Comments: 4
Kudos: 19





	1. Waiting

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Vampiricalthorns](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vampiricalthorns/gifts).



> For Nico, because you deserve a bit of slice of life and Wonwoo centric things are always welcome. Is it finished? Who knows? Is Ara the cutest thing? Yes.
> 
> Enjoy!
> 
> So many thanks to Wish_Us_Luck/BetterTimesAreComing for child checking this fic, thank youuuuuu <3
> 
> Characters are their own, this doesn't reflect in any way their lives or ambitions.

Wonwoo didn’t mind waiting. It was crisp and clear outside, and every now and then a dog would waggle by with its owner, turning a curious nose on Wonwoo’s shoes. 

Wonwoo didn’t mind waiting. The birds were chirping in the tree above him and if he held perfectly still he could hear the gentle rustle of the leaves.

Wonwoo didn’t mind waiting. Even though his fingers were going slightly numb from staying still and he kept feeling phantom spider legs on his neck.

Wonwoo didn’t mind waiting. But he had waited for such a long time now, and nobody had turned up. He slipped his phone out of his pocket and hit the speed dial.

“Yoon residence, Ara speaking!” Ara had just been granted phone-answering permission, and she was as pleased as punch about it.

Wonwoo smiled, “Hi Ara honey, it’s Wonwoo-oppa. Could you get your appa for me, please?”

“Hi oppa~” She giggled and then the phone was put down on the table with a thud.

“Hi Wonwoo-ya, how are you?” Jeonghan’s voice was soothing, it always was.

“Hyung, I’ve been waiting for hours now and-”

“Do you need me to come and get you?” Wonwoo could hear the clink of keys and he nodded rapidly, a sob rising unbidden in his throat.

“Please.”

“Okay. Okay,” Jeonghan muffled the receiver for a second and then, “Can you tell me where you are?”

Wonwoo nodded and rattled off an address, staring at the tree in front of him blankly. It was a big tree. Green. There was some sort of bird in the branches chirping incessantly. A leaf was falling slowly in front of his nose-

“-woo, Wonwoo-ya? Would you like to stay on the phone?” 

Wonwoo blinked. “But you’re driving?”

“You can talk to Ara, or I can put you on to Cheol-ah. It’s not a bother.”

“Cheol-ah?” Who on earth?

“Seungcheol-ah, he’s beside me right now. Do you want to talk to him?”

Seungcheol? What was he doing over at Jeonghan’s place?  “Hyung?”

“I’ll put you onto Ara so,” Wonwoo could practically hear Jeonghan’s facial expression. That half smile, half exasperated face he got when someone wasn’t picking things up quickly enough.

“Oppa! Appa says you’re in a forest! We talked about oak trees today in school, and about acorns. Did you know that dotorimuk is made from acorns? Teacher brought in some to taste and it was really strong. Did you know that squirrels don’t lose their food? They can smell their spit! Did you know…” Ara kept up a mostly one sided conversation, interspersed with some hums from Wonwoo, for their entire journey. Only stopping when Jeonghan pulled the car to a stop in front of him.

She waved at him through the window, “Oppa, Appa says to come and get into the car, please.”

Wonwoo opened the door, slipping into the passenger seat and turning to face Ara with a smile. “Hi honey! Thanks for telling me all about your day, you learnt so much! Thanks for keeping me company.”

Ara grinned at him, wriggling happily in her car seat, and handing the phone to Wonwoo, whispering a shy, “you’re welcome, oppa,” and squishing her hands into the blanket in her lap.

Wonwoo smiled, she was adorable, he turned back to the front and put Jeonghan’s phone on the dashboard. “Thanks for picking me up, hyung.”

Jeonghan nodded, slipping the car into first gear and indicating away from the kerb. “Of course. Did you get a chance to eat? You’re coming back to ours.”

Wonwoo didn’t argue. He was in the mood for Jeonghan’s own special brand of coddling and he was intrigued about what Seungcheol-hyung was doing at Jeonghan’s house.

  
  


*

  
  


When they pulled up at Jeonghan’s place, Jeonghan waved Wonwoo on ahead of him, pulling Ara out of the car and into his arms carefully. She’d started to doze on the way back.

“Hey bunny, we’re home now. Time for bed I think?”

“Sleepy, Appa,” she yawned into his shoulder and Jeonghan smiled. Oh to have a child who loved to go to bed. He was lucky.

“I know,” he closed the door and locked the car, going straight up the stairs to get her ready for bed. Wonwoo would be fine for a little while.

Ara managed to change into her pyjamas and start washing her teeth before she started nodding off and Jeonghan sat her up on the counter, taking over. 

“It’s a Saturday tomorrow, bunny. You can sleep in. Then we’ll have pancakes, and go for a big walk in the forest. What do you think?” Jeonghan asked as he tied off the ends of her plaits.

“Squirrels?” Ara mumbled and Jeonghan smiled.

“We’ll have to keep our eyes peeled!” He bussed her on the head and lifted her up, setting her on his hip, “Ok, you’re all done. Do you want to say ‘Good Night’ to your oppas first? Or go straight to bed?”

“Oppas, and then, Appa, then I really need to sleep. I am very tired,” Ara enunciated carefully with the seriousness of a child.

“Of course Ara. Sleep is very important,” Jeonghan agreed before bringing her down to the kitchen. She had her head tucked against his neck and her hands twisted in his shirt. He did love her so much.

“Ara wanted to say something,” Jeonghan smiled brightly, drawing the attention of the two in the kitchen. They both smiled softly.

Ara lifted her head up long enough to say, “Good Night Seungcheol-oppa and Wonwoo-oppa. Sleep well,” before turning to look up at him from under her long lashes, “Bed time now, Appa.”

“Alright, alright. Back in a second. Wonwoo-ya, there’s some food in the saucepan if you want to reheat it.”

“Sleep well Ara-ya!”

“Sweet dreams, honey!”

Jeonghan tucked his baby into her bed, breathing in the baby powder smell of her and turning on the night light.

“Night, love.”

“Night, Appa.”

He pulled the door over, leaving it slightly ajar. 

  
  


*

  
  


“So you got stood up?” Jeonghan eventually asked, a small glass of wine cradled between his fingers and Wonwoo sighed. 

“Yeah. I just, I don’t know. I expected it to be different this time. I don’t know why,” Wonwoo sighed and pulled a cushion in front of him. “He promised that he was trying to fix things, Hyung why would he lie about that?”

“Maybe because he’s your brother and he wants you to think the best of him?” Seungcheol answered instead and Wonwoo startled slightly. He still hadn’t gotten any answers about why  _ Seungcheol _ was here, and Jeonghan didn’t look like he was going to give him any in a hurry.

“Seungcheol-ah could be right. But maybe he is trying to fix things but he just messed up tonight. Try to ring him tomorrow?”

“But Hyung, I keep giving him chances and making excuses, and-” Wonwoo closed his eyes tightly, trying to stem the inevitable tears. There’s a clink of a glass on the coffee table and then he was being cradled to Jeonghan’s chest, head pressed against his shoulder. Jeonghan’s arms wrapped around him securely, nothing could touch him, nobody could judge him. Wonwoo exhaled shakily and let himself be held. 

“You don’t have to do anything. He stood you up, he can reschedule. If you don’t want to see him again, you don’t have to. You’ve tried so hard so many times, you can let him try now.”

“But, but he’s my brother?” Wonwoo whispered into Jeonghan’s shirt, feeling like a child, but Jeonghan just held him tighter, one hand loosely rubbing circles on his spine.

“Blood isn’t everything Wonwoo-ya, you know that. But if you want to keep trying that’s okay. If you want someone to go with you next time, that’s okay too. As long as you’re doing it because you want to, and not because you feel you should,” Jeonghan was firm and Wonwoo felt himself nodding.

“You don’t have to decide anything now,” Jeonghan said as Wonwoo pulled away, wrapping his arms around himself and blinking at the chair that Seungcheol had been sitting in.

“I know, I’m too tired to do that anyway,” Wonwoo turned back to Jeonghan with a small smile, “Thanks Hyung.”

“That’s what I’m here for. Do you want to stay the night? I’m making pancakes in the morning, and I was going to turn on that railway thing you recommended.”

Wonwoo looked over at the door, and then back to the empty armchair with a raised brow.

“Seungcheol-ah? Do you want a lift home?” Jeonghan pitched his voice to the kitchen, rolling his eyes at Wonwoo.

Seungcheol leaned around the doorway, “You’ve had wine, Hannie-”

Wonwoo raised his eyebrow and mouthed ‘Hannie’ to Jeonghan. Jeonghan didn’t even blink.

“-I’ve called a cab, don’t worry about it. Dinner was lovely. Sorry about your brother Wonwoo-ya, I hope everything works out.”

Jeonghan untangled himself from the blanket and Wonwoo’s legs and stepped out into the hall after Seungcheol. Wonwoo made himself not look, and the low tones of a whispered conversation made it impossible to hear what they were saying. He picked at the threads of the blanket absently. Maybe Jeonghan-hyung was dating again. Maybe Bohyuk hadn’t done it on purpose, like all the other times. Maybe he’d really forgotten this time. Wonwoo doubted it. He really doubted it. You could only give people so many chances before they ran out.

  
  


*

  
  


“So, Seungcheol-hyung,” Wonwoo stared at Jeonghan after ten minutes of the documentary. Jeonghan blushed. Wonwoo raised a brow.

“It’s nothing-”

“It’s not nothing! You’re blushing!”

“-we’re just… taking it slow. I have Ara to think about, and, well, there’s always been something there, but. It’s different now. For both of us. So, we’re taking it slowly. I haven’t told anyone yet,” Jeonghan said, a wistful expression on his face.

“I’m happy for you, hyung. Sorry if I ruined your night?”

“No. Never. He knows you guys are going to come first, he knows,” Jeonghan lifted up his arm and Wonwoo buried in underneath it. That was good to know. He was a little bit protective of his hyung, they all were.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Dotorimuk is a Korean acorn jelly.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dotori-muk)


	2. Protector

Wonwoo was practically walking on air as he wandered through the shopping centre. His long term, quietly nursed, crush had just asked _him_ out. Really cutely. He’d sent a text with about ten gifs reading out “Would you like to go get coffee with me? Heart emoji heart emoji heart emoji” and Wonwoo had nearly dropped his phone. Of course he’d said yes. They were meeting the following Thursday, for a _date_. Wonwoo was going to treat himself in glee, a nice chocolate éclaire from Thornton's Bakery. 

“Nonu-oppa?” Wonwoo turned around, chocolate éclaire halfway to his mouth and looked down. Ara was standing there, looking up at him in her pink cords and white shirt, plaits tied with tiny pink bows.

“Hi Ara-ya!” Wonwoo looked around, no sign of Jeonghan, “What are you doing here?” He asked, putting his éclaire down on the plate.

“We’re shopping for Maiko-unnie’s birthday present. I’m going to her party on Saturday, she said there’ll be a bouncy castle! Are you eating that all by yourself?” She cocked her head and Wonwoo smiled.

“Would you like some?”

“It’s a Wednesday, we don’t eat sweets until Friday, Oppa,” Ara frowned and Wonwoo smiled wider.

“I’m sorry. Come sit beside me? Where is your appa?”

Ara looked behind her, eyes widening when she couldn’t find him. “He was behind me?” 

“I’ll ring him, where were you before you saw me?” Wonwoo asked as he pulled out his phone.

“In the book shop,” Ara sat beside him and leaned into his side whispering, “I didn’t mean to run off.” Wonwoo smoothed her hair down gently.

“Hyung, I have Ara. I’m sitting at Thornton's Bakery,” Wonwoo didn’t bother saying hello, and Jeonghan’s sigh of relief was thanks enough.

“Thanks, don’t let her move, I can’t believe she ran off on me, she’s never done that before, I thought, I thought, well. You know what I thought. Oh there you are,” Jeonghan hung up and rushed over to them.

“Ara!!” Jeonghan whisper-shouted in relief, dropping a few bags and kneeling down in front of the chair. “Baby, please never scare me like that again. No running off.”

Ara started to cry and Jeonghan scooped her up, peppering kisses all over her face. “I’m sorry Appa, I’m sorry,”

“Thank you baby, I’m not angry at you, I was just scared.”

“I thought you were behind me.”

“I turned around and you weren’t there, baby,” Jeonghan held her tight.

Wonwoo glared fiercely at the people staring at the two of them, how dare they. He kept glaring until everyone looked away, or at least pretended to look away. He plucked all the bags up and put them under the table, waving over a waitress with a smile.

“Can we get a hot chocolate and two coffees please? And a big slice of apple tart? Thank you.”

By the time the waitress returned, Jeonghan had manoeuvred the two of them into the couch on the other side of the booth, Ara tucked under his arm and tears drying on both of their cheeks. He looked at the coffee, surprised. “Oh, thank you Wonwoo-ya.”

Wonwoo just smiled, “The least I could do. Ara was telling me she’s going to a birthday party! Have you picked out a gift yet?”

Ara looked up at him and then at Jeonghan, “Yes. Unnie really likes legos, so I picked the ghost doctor one, she likes scary things.”

Wonwoo widened his eyes at that, “Oh she’s very brave then. Are you excited?”

“Yes!!” Ara bounced in her seat, “Appa and I made a card last night!”

Wonwoo smiled and Jeonghan cut the cake up into little pieces.

  
  


“You look happy,” Jeonghan commented after he and Ara had demolished the apple tart, ‘sweets are ok if you’ve had a shock’, and Ara had pulled out her book, snuggling into Jeonghan’s side.

“I just got asked out, hyung! By Mingyu-ya!” Wonwoo beamed and Jeonghan gasped into his coffee, looking up at Wonwoo.

“Seriously?! How did that happen? What? How even?” 

“I bumped into him a few days ago on my way home from work, we were waiting at the same bus stop, and started chatting, and I don’t know. My heart. But he texted me this afternoon and asked me out via gifs!”

Jeonghan laughed, “That’s so cute. Awww. I’m so happy for you, you deserve something nice.”

Wonwoo twisted a napkin absently, trying to tamp down his smile, but failing majorly. “I’m excited. We’re going to Queen of Tarts next week. For lunch, nothing too serious.”

“Right, we better get moving. This young lady has homework to do, and I have to make dinner. You should come over soon, what about the night before your date?” Jeonghan stood and gathered all the bags in one hand.

“That sounds good, let me know if you want me to bring anything?” Wonwoo smiled, hugging Ara tightly. “See you soon, honey, stay safe alright?”

“Yes oppa, you too!” She bounced away and clung onto Jeonghan’s hand tightly.

“OK, see you then. Thanks for coffee!!”

Wonwoo waved them off and smiled after them. It was nice running into people unexpectedly. Especially those two, they never failed to make him smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [The Ghost Lab Lego set.](https://www.lego.com/en-ie/product/j-b-s-ghost-lab-70418)


	3. Unstoppable

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A Date and a Cat Café

Wonwoo felt amazing.

The date had gone so well, there had hardly been any awkward silences, they’d just kept talking and talking until the café closed and then they’d walked to the bus stop together. Mingyu was so chatty, and so comfortable to be around, Wonwoo hadn’t felt like it was a date at all. At least, not a first date. And not until the end where Mingyu had kept flicking his eyes down to his lips and rubbing his thumb over his wrist. It had been really sweet. 

The high from his date flowed into the next day, and Wonwoo practically floated through work, answering emails and writing briefs with a lightness that he’d never felt before. His assistant had looked at him bizarrely until he’d realised that he was singing. It was totally inappropriate, he was working on a murder case, but still. He was happy.

They’d even texted since! Mingyu had texted him the minute he’d gotten home, just a quick text to say that he’d had a lovely time, he would love to see Wonwoo again, and to let him know that he’d gotten home safely. It had just filled Wonwoo with bubbles.

  
  


*

  
  


One of their next dates took them to a cat café. A Cat Café.

Wonwoo could feel Mingyu looking at him, but that CATS were just so cute? Like how could he be expected to actually ignore a kitten oh my goodness it was tiny and calico and purring like a very small motor and it was sitting on his lap, oh my goodness!

Mingyu sat down slowly beside him, as to not startle the KITTEN, and leaned against him. Not too heavy, but noticeable. He reached down to the kitten, open palm, letting it lick at him and then petted it’s ears gently. Wonwoo held his breath.

Another kitten came over and flopped into Wonwoo’s lap and he couldn’t help to coo that slipped out of him, it was silky black with dark blue eyes and it’s little gaze was one of the most adorable things he’d ever seen?

“Mingyu-ya, look at it’s eyes!”

Mingyu smiled against Wonwoo’s head, and petted that kitten too.

At times like this it was so easy to forget that the world was a cruel cold place and just think about how sweet small creatures are and how trusting and cute they were and how they trusted humans who- Oh and we’re back to the cruel world. But kittens. Peaceful and the purest.

  
  


They were no more than five steps from the café when Mingyu turned them down an alley and cupped Wonwoo’s face in his hands. Wonwoo squeaked.

“Hyung? Can I kiss you?” Mingyu asked carefully, Wonwoo looked up at him blinking.

“What brought this on?” He managed to find some of the bravado he was generally known for but that somehow fled at the very thought of Mingyu’s presence.

Mingyu smiled and huffed a tiny laugh, “You’re adorable when you think other things are adorable.”

Oh. That was… incredibly sweet. “You’re cute Mingyu-ya. And yes to the kiss.”

Mingyu beamed, bright eyes and a big wide toothy smile, and leaned to catch his lips in his. 

It was everything a first kiss should be. Gentle. Chaste. Tender. But at the same time, full of intent and want and leaving Wonwoo with the desire for more. 

Mingyu pulled back slowly, stroking along Wonwoo’s cheekbone. Wonwoo took a moment to open his eyes, savouring the sensation. When he did, it was to smile shyly up at Mingyu and stretch up to capture his lips in a second kiss.

This one was a little less chaste, but no less tender or sweet. 

Wonwoo pulled back to lean his forehead against Mingyu’s and breathed him in.

“Hi,” Mingyu hummed and Wonwoo’s lips split into a smile. He felt like he could conquer the world.

“Hi.”

“Should we take this somewhere more private? My flat is a few blocks away if you want? We can watch tonight’s episode of Beautiful Love, Wonderful Life? And drink tea?” Mingyu asked and would have continued asking several more questions but for Wonwoo kissing him again in response.

When he pulled away, he nodded. “Let’s go then!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Because](https://twitter.com/tinkswonhao/status/1201523204533018624) [Wonwoo](https://twitter.com/finejihan/status/1272506770120822786) [and](https://twitter.com/yoonchwes/status/1123906225886900224) [Cats!](https://twitter.com/mansehao/status/1271700518046322689)


	4. Hesitation

“Of course I’ll mind her, hyung! I’ll be over in 15 minutes, is that okay?” Wonwoo said, grabbing his keys and wallet, stuffing them in his pocket with one hand and slipping on shoes with the other.

“Thank you so much! I’m really sorry, I didn’t expect things to happen so quickly, but they said all family in as soon as possible. She was stable for such a long time, I guess none of us ever expected anything to change.”

“It’s okay if you’re upset, she’s your granny. Even if it’s expected, it’s still going to be hard,” Wonwoo put Jeonghan on speaker as he closed the car door and plugged in his seat belt.

“I know. I know, it’s just. Anyway. Thank you for coming over. I’ll see you in a few minutes. Drive carefully!”

“I always do.”

  
  


*

  
  


Once the door had shut behind Jeonghan, Wonwoo looked at Ara. “What do you want to do?”

Ara looked up at him thoughtfully. “Can we bake gingerbread men?” 

“We can definitely bake gingerbread men. Let’s just make sure we have everything we need, alright?”

Ara nodded and they made their way into the kitchen, Wonwoo rummaging through Jeonghan’s cookbooks until he found the gingerbread recipe. “Right, will you call out the ingredients? And I’ll check them?” Wonwoo asked, sitting Ara on the counter and handing her the book.

“Dark musc, musk, musk avocado sugar?” Ara struggled to pronounce the word and looked at him pleadingly.

“Muscovado, honey,” Wonwoo corrected gently.

“Muscovado?”

“That’s it!” Wonwoo pulled out the box of baking sugars and rummaged a bit until he found the bag. “We have it. What’s next?”

“Golden syrup?”

“I think I saw that a second ago… oh there it is, I’m all sticky now,” Wonwoo put the tin down on the counter and wiped his fingers on a towel.

“Baking butter?” Ara asked, swinging her legs.

Wonwoo opened the fridge, “yep!”

“Plain flour?”

“Yep”

“Bi carb on ate of soda?”

“That’s it honey, bicarbonate. We have it.”

“Ground ginger, ground cinnamon and an egg? We bought eggs yesterday.”

“And we have the spices, I think we’re good to go! Where does your appa keep the aprons?”

Once they had tied on their respective aprons, Wonwoo wearing Jeonghan’s Good Omens Angel apron and Ara her usual ‘Demon of the Kitchen’ one, they washed their hands and measured out the ingredients carefully.

Wonwoo put the sugars and butter on the hob to melt and Ara mixed the dry ingredients.

“We need to wait for that to melt and cool first, honey. Do you want to listen to music?”

Ara shook her head, “Tell me a story about Appa?”

“A story about your appa? Oh there are too many to count, what would you like a story about?” Wonwoo stirred the sugar mixture slowly.

“When I was born?”

Wonwoo hummed, how to tell a child friendly story about the entire disaster that had been Ara’s birth. How to spin that into a fairy tale?

“Oppa please! Appa hardly ever says anything about when I was a baby, and all the girls have stories,” she whined quietly and Wonwoo turned to her, that decided it.

“Well. Your appa was very excited to meet you, and you were very excited to meet your appa, and you came into the world really quickly! Most babies take hours to be born, but you only took 30 minutes! Your appa couldn’t stop crying once he could hold you, you look so much like him, he never wanted to let you go. He cried because he loved you so much.” Jeonghan had cried because he was suddenly a single parent and the mother, his fiancée had wanted nothing to do with the child, had upped and left the hospital not an hour after giving birth. But also because he loved her. He had loved Ara the moment he’d known about her and he would never ever stop.

“I don’t look like Appa!!” Ara giggled, lips turned in a moue, dimple showing, hair falling over one eye and shaking her head.

“Yes, yes you do.”

“I don’t!”

“You do!! You have your appa’s eyes, and his nose, and his cheekbones, and his smile. And when your appa was younger,” Wonwoo leaned closer to whisper, “When your appa was in university he had long hair just like yours!”

“No!!” Ara gasped, leaning back as her hands flew to her face. “He had  _ long hair _ ?!”

“Yes he did!! I’ll try to find some photos for the next time I come over. He looked fantastic,” Wonwoo snickered at the look on her face, and smiled at the memory. “Oh! Look it’s melted! Time to mix mix mix!” Wonwoo waggled his hips and Ara hid her face.

  
  


After they’d both washed their hands again, and Ara stepped up onto the stool by the counter, they mixed in the wet ingredients, cracked in an egg and mixed it all together properly.

Ara kneaded the dough carefully, her small hands barely making an impression. Wonwoo cupped his hands around hers to help and between them, they had the dough kneaded and into a bowl to chill in the fridge.

“How did you meet Appa?” Ara asked, back up on her counter perch with a glass of milk.

Wonwoo leaned against the counter opposite her and hummed, “Your appa was a year ahead of me in university. And he was my orientation guide.”

“What’s an or-ee-n-tation guide?” Ara asked, cocking her head to the side.

“Someone who shows you where everything is, and answers questions about teachers and classes and things like that. He was very helpful, took all of our numbers and told us to call him if we ever needed him. Your appa has always been super nice.”

Ara smiled widely, “Appa is the best.”

“He is!”

“Did you? Did you know Cheol-oppa?” Ara asked carefully, like this was what she’d wanted to ask all along.

Wonwoo nodded, “He was friends with your appa when I met him first. Do you like him?”

Ara paused, thinking. “He comes over a lot.”

Wonwoo waited, Ara knew she could always come to him with questions, Jeonghan had always been very clear in insisting that whatever Ara said to them in confidence was not to be shared with him unless it was necessary. She needed to be able to complain about him or about random things without feeling like everything would get back to him. Or even just ask someone something if she didn’t want to ask her appa. Ara knew that too.

“He makes Appa happy? And he bakes cakes. And he has a kitten. I petted her once, she’s really soft. Do you think we’ll ever get a kitten, oppa?” Ara twisted the bottom of her apron and looked earnestly up at Wonwoo. He smiled, eyes lighting up at the idea.

“Maybe. I love kittens too! I went to a cat café a few weeks ago, and they all sat on me. We’ll have to go visit some time. Would you like that?”

“Yes!!!” Ara giggled and swung her feet, “You can pet them all?”

“And cuddle them and listen to them purr. And eat cake. It’s really, “Wonwoo looked up at the ceiling theatrically, “the perfect place.”

“You’re silly, oppa. Is it time to cut the men?”

  
  


*

  
  


When the gingerbread came out of the oven, Wonwoo melted some chocolate for Ara to draw faces on with and they put the tray of gingerbread people, and one gingerbread kitten, into the fridge to cool.

“Right. Time to get into your pyjamas, honey. And then we can have milk and cookies. And then bed I think, you look tired,” Wonwoo put the last dish into the press and looked at her.

Ara nodded, turning and heading to the stairs, “Will Appa be home soon?”

Wonwoo followed her up, “I don’t know, honey. If he’s not back when we’re washing your teeth we can give him a ring so you can say good night, alright?” 

“Okay oppa,” Ara yawned, “I can do my pyjamas myself.”

“Okay honey. I’m going to get changed too. I’ll be in your appa’s room okay? Call me if you need me.”

Wonwoo hadn’t brought pyjamas, but he normally just nicked Jeonghan’s things anyway. With no shame, he rooted through Jeonghan’s chest of drawers until he found something that would fit him. They weren’t that far off in size.

  
  


*

  
  


Ara’s smile as she bit into the gingerbread spoke of a job well done. “This is delicious!” She said with a grin after a gulp of milk, “Thank you for making them with me!”

“You are very welcome Ara-ya,” Wonwoo smiled back and kissed her hair.

  
  


*

  
  
  


They ended up ringing Jeonghan, and Wonwoo handed the phone over for them to say their good nights.

Closing the door over behind him, Wonwoo trudged down the stairs, “Take your time, hyung. How is she?”

“Fading. My parents couldn’t make it. It’s just me and Hana, it’s hard. But she’ll be happier, in less pain.” Jeonghan sounded like he was trying to convince himself.

“Of course. Just be with her, even if she can’t respond, she can hear you, right?”

Jeonghan’s small sobs were audible through the speaker and Wonwoo fell silent, closing the kitchen door and leaning against the counter.

“It’s okay to cry, hyung. Let it out.” Wonwoo said gently, and those words were all it took to break the dam. Jeonghan cried into the receiver, loud corpse wracking sobs, until he had none left. Wonwoo murmuring small words of reassurance the whole time.

“Thanks Nonu. I better get back in.”

“Get a taxi if you don’t feel up to driving. Okay? And take your time, I’m not going anywhere.”

  
  


*

  
  


Wonwoo woke up to someone slipping in beside him, he turned over, bleary eyed. Jeonghan flopped down against the pillows.

“Hyung?”

Jeonghan looked at him vacantly. “She passed an hour ago.”

“I’m so sorry for your loss,” Wonwoo said immediately and Jeonghan burrowed closer, tears falling hot and heavy into the material of Wonwoo’s stolen top. He patted Jeonghan’s back soothingly, humming, holding.

Jeonghan eventually cried himself asleep, and Wonwoo left his arms wrapped around him loosely, quickly following him into dreamland.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Gingerbread!](https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/gingerbread-people)
> 
> Is gingerbread seasonal in your country? It's not in mine (Ireland), but it is in Norway apparently. Such a sad thought :(

**Author's Note:**

> Leave a comment if you liked it, kudos if you got this far! Come on~ it's the last you can do!
> 
> Stay safe,  
> Rose x
> 
> [Talk to me on Twitter!](https://twitter.com/RoseEnDiamant)


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